Bulldogs endure busy week, cold weather

As the week came to an end last Friday, so did the good weather. The temperatures dropped and the storm clouds covered the sky. Despite undesirable conditions, the Baldwin High School girls track team endured it all.

"The whole week the weather was really nice and warm," senior Kyleigh Garman said. "Then we got to Friday and it became really cold and windy."

Part of the athletes competed at the Cardinal Relays on Friday while others also ran at the KU Relays on Friday and Saturday.

Sophomore Amanda Vander Tuig, who high jumped at KU, felt harassed by the conditions.

"Obviously, the excellent competition was the hardest part," Vander Tuig said. "But in addition to that, the weather was not exactly favorable."

Vander Tuig was nervous about the big meet but eventually got into her groove.

"It was a little intimidating at first but once the competition started it was the same as every other meet."

The biggest standout at KU was freshman Heather Garcia, who finished fourth in the 3,200-meter run and sixth in the 1,600-meter run.

Garcia broke her 3,200 school record she had broken one week before. She ran 11:22.10, four seconds faster than her previous record.

The general mood was similar at the Cardinal Relays. Runners competed against the other athletes as well as the wind.

"I made it to finals in triple jump," junior Katie Beall said. "When we got to finals, the temperature had dropped by about 10 degrees and my jumps went down by an average of a foot and a half."

Junior Kelsey Heckathorne said the wind really affected the runners on the back part of the track.

"On the back stretch it felt like you were running in place," junior Kelsey Heckathorne said. "To keep warm, I kept moving around during the meet."

The girls managed to take third place at the Cardinal Relays and some even felt they had run well.

"Even though the wind was really bad, it was one of my better meets," junior Amy Craig said. "I felt really good after running my events."

On Monday, the girls easily won the Spring Hill meet. They competed against Spring Hill and Osawatomie. Once again, the meet was filled with rain clouds and cool temperatures.

Senior Kelli Harris enjoyed a few aspects of the meet.

"The pole vaulters dominated," Harris said. "We were the only five girls who competed in the event and we racked-up a lot of points for the team."

Next up for the Bulldogs will be the Girard Invitational at 3:30 p.m. tomorrow in Girard.